Different tire front and rear?

[Moto_Geek]

I've got a couple long mileage trips coming up. My Diablo Rosso II tires are great tires, but the rear is wearing flat in the middle. I've hit up the curviest roads I could find every weekend for the last three weekends, but the straight commuting is taking it's toll. Front tire looks great, so I don't want to change both tires. Motorcycle shops don't want to let me put a Pilot Road 2 on the rear and leave the Diablo Rosso on the front, unless I remove the tire and bring it into them and basically don't mention what I have on the front.

Is there a reason I can't run a Diablo Rosso II on front and a Pilot Road 2 on back? I don't know if they are just being overly cautious or if there really are issues? Can't see changing a perfectly good front tire, but I'm inclined not to leave the Rosso II on the rear due to the wear issues. I've got 3,600 miles on the tires, plenty of tread left, but the rear is looking pretty squared. For reference, the flat spot on the center of the tire is approximately 1 1/4" wide based on the measurement I just took. Am I being overly cautious and it's fine, or should this be changed out?

[steves]

Some people say it matters, others say it doesnt. I say do what you are comfortable with.

[Moto_Geek]

Some people say it matters, others say it doesnt. I say do what you are comfortable with.

I agree, but I don't know the technical reasons for not wanting to run a tire on the rear that doesn't match the front, other than the obvious reason being that the tread is a bit different...

[steves]

The argument usually revolves around the differences in tire compound and tread pattern causing the bike to behave differently.

If you are planning to put a Pilot Road on the rear, I see no issue with mixing tires.

The shops probably don't want to be held liable if you come back and say you crashed because they sold you different tires.

[shpielers]

I mix and match a bit, never really been a problem for me. I do a ton of commuting, so I'm looking for tires that last. I also don't have a bunch if time for twisties, so I really don't ride hard enough to notice if it makes any difference. I've dragged pegs a few times and felt fine though. Currently have a PR3 up front and a Pr2 in the rear. 7000 miles on the PR3, lots of tread left still. The rear has more than that, not really sure off the top of my head though. Haven't hit any rain since moving to this combo, but works done for me. Also ran a Pirelli diablo up front before the PR3, again no problems and that combo did see a lot of rain.

[Squisher]

The argument usually revolves around the differences in tire compound and tread pattern causing the bike to behave differently.

If you are planning to put a Pilot Road on the rear, I see no issue with mixing tires.

The shops probably don't want to be held liable if you come back and say you crashed because they sold you different tires.

We have a winner, I'd bet heavily on this line of reasoning.

I've run mismatched tires in the past, and the kind of riding I do (pretty mild honestly) I have yet to tell the difference.

[steves]

If you were to say, do something crazy like put a ME880 cruiser tire on the rear, and a Pilot 2CT on the front... then I would say no don't do that.

[Moto_Geek]

Sounds good...

Thanks for the info guys... Just called my only local shop, a Yamaha dealer, and they said the PR2's only come in 150 sized, and my bike has a 140 on it now. Any reason this should be an issue. Otherwise, I'm stuck with something made by Shinko or Tenda, or sticking with the Diablo Rosso II's...

[Kreylyn]

Thanks for the info guys... Just called my only local shop, a Yamaha dealer, and they said the PR2's only come in 150 sized, and my bike has a 140 on it now. Any reason this should be an issue. Otherwise, I'm stuck with something made by Shinko or Tenda, or sticking with the Diablo Rosso II's...

The pre 600 and pre 750 use the same rim.

The 600 stock tire was 140/80... the 750 stock tire was 150/70...


Go figure on that, but... yes, it's no problem to use the 150/70 on the 600. it would be the recommended size.

Krey

[steves]

the 150/70-17 is the reccomended size for Pre bikes.

[Moto_Geek]

The pre 600 and pre 750 use the same rim.

The 600 stock tire was 140/80... the 750 stock tire was 150/70...


Go figure on that, but... yes, it's no problem to use the 150/70 on the 600. it would be the recommended size.

Krey

Perfect. 150 70 R17 PR2 it is. Only bad part is I had the chance to ride about 600 miles this Wednesday and Thursday for a work trip, and the local shop can't get the tire until Friday. Not sure if I want to run flat centered rear Rosso II on that trip, although it is all highway miles (and I'm not down to the wear bars on it yet).

Thanks for the info guys. After being away from motorcycling for 8 years, this Kat has really been a great bike so far. It's a 1995, so it's a little older and has some of the issues of an older bike, but I can't tear myself off of it. Every time there's an opportunity to ride, I do it, even if it's just to the grocery store, LOL. 3,600 in the last 4 weeks and loving it.

I think I've got a vacuum leak as the petcock isn't working correctly unless it's on PRI (I'll replace the vacuum lines and rebuild the petcock soon), I've got to replace the mirrors, and need a new bar end after the weekend ride where I seemed to have lost the right side bar end, but I love riding this bike. Comfortable and quick enough for me at this point in time.

[steves]

There's nothing really "wrong" with a flat center tire. It may react a little differently (slower) in the corners but it's not dangerous IMO.

[hardlydangerous]

as long as the front is the softer compound tire there is no issue.

however avoid running bias and radials mix,